EP-A-0 931 897 describes a motor vehicle door hinge, in which a first and a second hinge part in each case in the form of a single section and designed as a profiled and forged hinge part are connected to each other in a pivoting articulated manner via a common hinge pin. The hinge can be unhinged by the hinge pin being designed in a manner such that it can be taken out of that hinge part in which the hinge pin is held in a rotationally fixed manner, by releasing a nut. The hinge pin is to be designed to be of an appropriate length. The hinge furthermore comprises an arrester unit which comprises a cam disk, which is secured in a rotationally fixed manner on the outwardly directed end joint of that hinge part through which the hinge pin passes in a pivotable manner by means of a sleeve, and a corrugated disk, which is coupled to the hinge pin via a driver profile and is prestressed in the direction of the cam disk by a disk spring assembly, as a result of which the arresting or braking movement is provided by the relative movement of the corrugated disk and cam disk. The first problem with the known motor vehicle door hinge is the complicated subdivision of the arrester unit into cam disk and corrugated disk, this having to be provided, however, in order to put the disk springs favorably to use. The configuration as a separable motor vehicle door hinge means that the single-section hinge parts, the gudgeons of which absorb the entire load, have to be designed as forged parts or complicated profiles, with the production costs being considerable as a result. In particular, the manufacturing of a hinge pin with a multiplicity of profiles for securing it on the one hinge half, for screwing on the hinge pin tightly and for driving the corrugated disk is complicated and cost-intensive, in particular when taking the tolerances into consideration. Finally, the driving of the corrugated disk via the hinge pin, which is designed with a square bar profile, causes an unfavorable tendency for jamming to occur, as a result of which the axial movability of the corrugated disk is restricted and, in particular in the case of latching movements, there is an unfavorable surface pressure in the narrow region of the corrugated disk. Furthermore—as in other hinges known from practice—a rolled bushing is provided as the sliding bushing, the collar of which is produced by crimping and, as is generally known, has a triangular interruption and therefore a reduced contact area, the crimping causing undesired fluctuations in the thickness in the collar region which also has a disadvantageous effect on the running characteristics of the hinge, such as reduced adhesion of the sliding layer, and so, in series manufacturing, undesirably high tolerances and running fluctuations have to be accepted, and, moreover, the sealing against penetration of impurities from the surroundings is not entirely ensured.
EP-A-0 897 044 describes two types of door hinges comprising two hinge parts which are connected to each other in an articulated manner by a shaft section and are designed with an arresting device, which is provided outside the hinge parts and is provided coaxially on that part of the hinge pin which protrudes over the hinge parts. In a first embodiment, a cage is held by rolling bodies, which are designed as tapered rollers, on a housing which is connected to a hinge part while a latching disk, which is acted upon by a helical spring supported against the housing and has latching markings for the rolling bodies, is carried along by the shaft section and is rotated relative to the cage. In a second embodiment, a latching disk with latching markings for rolling bodies is secured on a housing connected to a hinge part or on a housing connected with the hinge part, and a cage with rolling bodies designed as tapered rollers or balls is carried along by the shaft section and rotated relative to the latching disk, in which case a pressure-distributing ring is acted upon by a spring, which is supported against a supporting plate, in the direction of the rolling bodies in order to press the rolling bodies into the latching markings, the cage and the pressure-distributing ring both having to be moved for this purpose up and down counter to the restoring force of the spring. Both embodiments require a complicated mounting of the multiplicity of mutually rotatable disks by means of ball bearings or the like which are placed in between, and furthermore require the provision of moveable rolling bodies, the rolling resistance of which slackens off severely over time, which means that the characteristic of the arrester unit differs significantly from the original setting. At the same time, this and also the diameters of the rolling bodies cause the arrester unit to have an undesirably large overall height. The parts to be manufactured are numerous and some of them have geometries which can be obtained only in a complicated manner, which means that production and installation are complicated.
EP-A-0 382 170 describes a motor vehicle door hinge, in which the two hinge parts each have two gudgeons which are connected to each other in an articulated manner via the same hinge pin, the hinge pin being secured in a rotationally fixed manner in the two gudgeons of the one hinge part and being mounted in a pivotable manner in the two gudgeons of the other hinge part. This motor vehicle door hinge does not permit any preferred securing at certain opening angles of the motor vehicle door; furthermore, the known hinge requires wings which are deposited outside the base of the parts having the gudgeons and in which the apertures for fixing it onto the door assembly parts are provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,055 describes a furniture hinge with two U-shaped hinge parts which each have a base with apertures for fixing said hinge onto a wall element and from which in each case two limbs protrude at right angles, the hinge parts being connected to each other via gudgeons, which are provided in the limbs, in a paired manner in each case by means of rivets, the furniture hinge furthermore securing a spring wire on the one hinge part and it being possible for its free ends to interact with projections provided on the other hinge part in order to hold a completely opened or completely closed position of the wall element. Among the disadvantages of the known furniture hinge is that the hinge axis is at the same large distance from both of the hinge parts. The use of a hinge of this type is not suitable in the case of a heavy motor vehicle door.
DE-A-2 342 945 describes a hinge, in which two hinge parts are connected to each other in an articulated manner by a hinge pin, two plate bodies outside the hinge parts enclosing a spring which pushes the two plate bodies apart, the hinge pin passing rotatably through the spring and the two plate bodies, the two plate bodies having a recess by which they are secured on a shaft, which is attached to the one hinge part, in such a manner that the plate bodies are carried along by this hinge part, the hinge pin furthermore having studs which engage around the plate bodies from the outside, protrude over the diameter of the hinge pin and interact with latching markings, which are formed in those sides of the plate bodies which face the studs, and are intended for the engagement of the studs, in such a manner that, when a stud is engaged in an appropriate position, corresponding, for example, to a holding position of a door, the spring is relaxed and, when the position is left, the spring is tensioned. Since the studs are placed fixedly in the hinge pin, the plate bodies have to be designed in a manner such that they can be displaced relative to the hinge pin and therefore also relative to the shaft, which is used to carry along the plate bodies, which means that there is a risk of jamming and, furthermore, of noises being produced. The structural space required by the known device is undesirably large in terms of height and width and furthermore lacks protection against the penetration of impurities. For the assembly, a separate installation aid is required because the studs can only be driven through the hinge pin at the end.
DE-A-198 31 085 describes a hinge with two hinge parts which are designed in each case as an outer and an inner bracket, in which a hinge pin passes through the two limbs of the two brackets, in which, in order to realize an arresting device, a spring which is supported against the one limb of the outer bracket acts upon the sleeve arranged on the hinge pin, and in which, furthermore, two divided tube sections are provided around the hinge pin, said sections being secured in each case by their mutually remote ends on one of the brackets and their mutually facing end sides having an intermeshing cam-type profile comprising depressions and projections running along a closed ring, the spring forcing the two tube sections in each case into positions in which all of the depressions and projections of the one tube section intermesh with all of the projections and depressions of the other tube section. One of the disadvantages of this hinge is the complicated production and installation, with the arresting device also resulting in the hinge axis having an unfavorable and thick configuration, and therefore needing to be at a large distance from the respective base of the brackets. Furthermore, it is inevitable that the one bracket with the associated tube section be inevitably displaced axially relative to the hinge pin during the opening movement, this not being acceptable for a motor vehicle hinge.
EP-A-0 848 128 describes a hinge comprising two hinge parts which are connected to each other in an articulated manner by a shaft section and are designed with an arresting device which is provided outside the hinge parts and is provided coaxially on that part of the hinge pin which protrudes over the hinge parts. In this case, a latching disk with latching markings for rolling bodies is secured on a housing, which is connected to a hinge part, and is decoupled from the hinge pin via a needle bearing. A complicated bearing unit for rolling bodies designed as tapered rollers is carried along in the rotational movement by a supporting plate, which is connected to the shaft section, via intermeshing projections of the supporting plate and recesses of the bearing unit, in which case a sleeve supports the bearing unit for an axial movement relative to the shaft section, which is cylindrical there. For this purpose, the bottom of the recesses in the bearing unit is at a distance from the projections of the supporting plate, which distance restricts the axial displaceability of the bearing plate. One end of a spring unit is supported against the supporting plate, the spring unit using its other end to prestress a shoulder of the bearing unit, the shoulder supporting the rolling bodies via a rigid connection. The carrying-along of the bearing unit via the supporting plate is problematic because there is a risk of it becoming jammed. The arrester unit furthermore requires a complicated mounting of the moveable rolling bodies, the rolling resistance of which severely slackens off over time, as a result of which the characteristic of the arrester unit significantly differs from the original setting. At the same time, the complicated design of the bearing unit and also the diameters of the rolling bodies result in the arrester unit having an undesirably large overall height. The parts which are to be manufactured are numerous and some of them have geometries which can only be obtained in a complicated manner, which means that production and installation are complicated.
DE-A-199 01 263 describes a hinge, in which two hinge parts are connected to each other in an articulated manner by a hinge pin, an arrester unit which is provided outside the hinge parts comprising a disk spring assembly which is arranged concentrically around the hinge pin on an extension thereof and has revolving balls and disks which are designed with recesses in order to carry along said balls, the vertical movement taking place along the hinge pin via longitudinal grooves formed in the latter and being blocked by brake plates.
DE-A-199 36 280 describes a hinge with two hinge parts and a hinge pin connecting said hinge parts, in which an arrester unit which is prestressed by a spring is provided outside the hinge pin and, by means of rollers which are provided at both ends of the arrester unit, presses against running surfaces, which are formed with profiled structures and are provided in addition to the hinge parts.